1"Man, who is
born of woman,
Is short-lived and full of turmoil. 2"Like
a flower he comes forth and withers. He also
flees like a shadow and does not remain. 3
"You also open Your eyes on him And bring him
into judgment with Yourself. 4
"Who can make the clean out of the unclean? No
one! 5"Since his
days are determined, The number of his months is
with You; And his limits You have set so that he
cannot pass. 6"Turn
Your gaze from him that he may rest, Until he
fulfills his day like a hired man.

7"For there is
hope for a tree, When it is cut down, that it
will sprout again, And its shoots will not fail.
8"Though its roots
grow old in the ground And its stump dies in the
dry soil, 9At the
scent of water it will flourish And put forth
sprigs like a plant. 10"But
man dies and lies prostrate. Man expires, and
where is he? 11"As
water evaporates from the sea, And a river
becomes parched and dried up, 12
So man lies down and does not rise. Until the
heavens are no longer, He will not awake nor be
aroused out of his sleep.

13"Oh that You
would hide me in Sheol, That You would conceal
me until Your wrath returns to You, That
You would set a limit for me and remember me! 14
"If a man dies, will he live again? All
the days of my struggle I will wait Until my
change comes. 15"You
will call, and I will answer You; You will long
for the work of Your hands. 16
"For now You number my steps, You do not observe
my sin. 17"My
transgression is sealed up in a bag, And You
wrap up my iniquity.

18"But the
falling mountain crumbles away, And the rock
moves from its place; 19
Water wears away stones, Its torrents wash away
the dust of the earth; So You destroy man's
hope. 20"You
forever overpower him and he departs; You
change his appearance and send him away. 21
"His sons achieve honor, but he does not know it;
Or they become insignificant, but he does not perceive it. 22
"But his body pains him, And he mourns only for
himself."

15 Eliphaz Says Job
Presumes Much

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded, 2
"Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge
And fill himself with the east wind? 3
"Should he argue with useless talk, Or with
words which are not profitable? 4
"Indeed, you do away with reverence And hinder
meditation before God. 5
"For your guilt teaches your mouth, And you
choose the language of the crafty. 6
"Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; And
your own lips testify against you.

7"Were you the
first man to be born, Or were you brought forth
before the hills? 8
"Do you hear the secret counsel of God, And
limit wisdom to yourself? 9
"What do you know that we do not know? What
do you understand that we do not? 10
"Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us,
Older than your father. 11
"Are the consolations of God too small for you,
Even the word spoken gently with you? 12
"Why does your heart carry you away? And why do
your eyes flash, 13That
you should turn your spirit against God And
allow such words to go out of your mouth? 14
"What is man, that he should be pure, Or he who
is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? 15
"Behold, He puts no trust in His holy ones, And
the heavens are not pure in His sight; 16
How much less one who is detestable and corrupt,
Man, who drinks iniquity like water!

What Eliphaz Has Seen of Life

17"I will tell
you, listen to me; And what I have seen I will
also declare; 18What
wise men have told, And have not concealed from
their fathers, 19To
whom alone the land was given, And no alien
passed among them. 20"The
wicked man writhes in pain all his days,
And numbered are the years stored up for the ruthless. 21
"Sounds of terror are in his ears; While at
peace the destroyer comes upon him. 22
"He does not believe that he will return from darkness,
And he is destined for the sword. 23
"He wanders about for food, saying, `Where is it?'
He knows that a day of darkness is at hand. 24
"Distress and anguish terrify him, They
overpower him like a king ready for the attack, 25
Because he has stretched out his hand against God
And conducts himself arrogantly against the Almighty. 26
"He rushes headlong at Him With his massive
shield. 27"For he
has covered his face with his fat And made his
thighs heavy with flesh. 28
"He has lived in desolate cities, In houses no
one would inhabit,
Which are destined to become ruins. 29"He
will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure;
And his grain will not bend down to the ground. 30
"He will not escape from darkness; The flame
will wither his shoots, And by the breath of His
mouth he will go away. 31
"Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself;
For emptiness will be his reward. 32
"It will be accomplished before his time, And
his palm branch will not be green. 33
"He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine,
And will cast off his flower like the olive tree. 34
"For the company of the godless is barren, And
fire consumes the tents of the corrupt. 35
"They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity,
And their mind prepares deception."

16 Job Says Friends
Are Sorry Comforters

1Then Job answered, 2
"I have heard many such things; Sorry comforters
are you all. 3"Is
there no limit to windy words? Or what
plagues you that you answer? 4"I
too could speak like you, If I were in your
place. I could compose words against you
And shake my head at you. 5"I
could strengthen you with my mouth, And the
solace of my lips could lessen your pain.

Job Says God Shattered Him

6"If I speak, my
pain is not lessened, And if I hold back, what
has left me? 7"But
now He has exhausted me; You have laid waste all
my company. 8"You
have shriveled me up, It has become a witness;
And my leanness rises up against me, It
testifies to my face. 9"His
anger has torn me and hunted me down, He has
gnashed at me with His teeth; My adversary
glares at me. 10"They
have gaped at me with their mouth, They have
slapped me on the cheek with contempt; They have
massed themselves against me. 11"God
hands me over to ruffians And tosses me into the
hands of the wicked. 12"I
was at ease, but He shattered me, And He has
grasped me by the neck and shaken me to pieces;
He has also set me up as His target. 13
"His arrows surround me. Without mercy He splits
my kidneys open; He pours out my gall on the
ground. 14"He
breaks through me with breach after breach; He
runs at me like a warrior. 15"I
have sewed sackcloth over my skin And thrust my
horn in the dust. 16"My
face is flushed from weeping, And deep darkness
is on my eyelids, 17
Although there is no violence in my hands, And
my prayer is pure.

18"O earth, do
not cover my blood, And let there be no
resting place for my cry. 19
"Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, And
my advocate is on high. 20
"My friends are my scoffers;
My eye weeps to God. 21"O
that a man might plead with God As a man with
his neighbor! 22"For
when a few years are past, I shall go the way of
no return.

The Holy Bible, New American
Standard Version (c)1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977,
1995 by the Lockman
Foundation, La Habra, CA. All rights reserved. Words
identified as being spoken by Jesus are in red.www.BibleABC.net